S.F. school district sued over alleged bullying

John Coté, Rachel Gordon, Heather Knight

Published
4:00 am PST, Tuesday, February 17, 2009

A teenager who says two schoolmates "sodomized" him with an umbrella handle at an after-school program is now suing the San Francisco school district, the neighborhood center and the alleged bullies, court records show.

The two 2007 assaults at A.P. Giannini Middle School came while the 13-year-old boy was wearing pants, but was violent enough that the umbrella handle broke off during the second attack, according to a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.

The two assaults occurred within three days of each other and caused serious bruising, the teen's uncle said. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages above $25,000.

The Chronicle is not identifying the teen or his family members because he is a minor and the alleged victim of a sexual assault. The two alleged bullies were expelled, the uncle said.

The lawsuit was filed against San Francisco Unified School District, the alleged bullies and Aspiranet, the nonprofit family services agency that operates the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center. It alleges negligent supervision, sexual assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other claims.

An attorney for the teen declined to comment, as did representatives of Aspiranet and the school district, who said they had either had not seen or hadn't fully reviewed the lawsuit.

Wheeling and dealing: San Francisco cycling advocates are gearing up for a campaign to push through projects in the city's stalled Bicycle Plan once the court gives permission to move forward.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is holding an organizing meeting tonight to launch "The Big 56 for Bikes" campaign. The intent, said coalition leader Leah Shahum, is to drum up advance support for the 56 bike-improvement projects outlined in the city plan.

Under order by the Superior Court, the proposed projects - primarily new bike lanes - have been on hold for about two years and will continue to be until the city completes an environmental assessment of the individual projects. The study is expected to be wrapped up this spring, perhaps in time for the annual Bike to Work Day on May 14.

Shahum said that just because a project is in the plan, doesn't mean it will be implemented.

The campaign kick-off, aimed at bike coalition members, will be held at First Baptist Church, 22 Waller St., starting at 6:30 p.m.

Today the group is expected to approve a three-page, single-spaced list of "Principles to Guide Budget Reductions" and is asking staff to explain how each cut jibes with the guidelines.

One section is a little controversial. The commission wants to prioritize services for "the homeless over the housed" and "those whose first language is not English."

Jim Illig, president of the commission, said it is essential that health programs for non-English speakers remain intact - even if it means services for English speakers are cut. He said an example would be translation services at clinics.

"They are a vulnerable population, and it's a particular concern of ours," he said. He also pointed out that a non-English-speaking homeless person would be even more highly prioritized.